NORTHEAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Quarterfinals | Wednesday, April 19
#3 Long Island University vs. #6 Merrimack College -- 4 PM
#4 Sacred Heart University vs. #5 St. Francis College Brooklyn -- 7 PM
*Teams re-seeded after quarterfinals.
Semifinals | Thursday, April 20
#2 Daemen University vs. #3 Long Island University -- 4 PM
Live Stats: via
sfuathletics.com
Live Stream: via
NEC Front Row &
ESPN3
#1 Saint Francis University vs. TBD -- 7 PM
Championship | Saturday, April 22
TBD vs. TBD -- 4 PM
TOURNEY TIME
The Daemen University men's volleyball team opens up postseason play on Thursday afternoon on the campus of Saint Francis University when they take the court for the inaugural Northeast Conference Tournament. The Wildcats enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed after dropping their regular season finale, 3-1, to Saint Francis on Saturday evening. Daemen will find out their opponent after the NEC quarterfinal matches on Wednesday evening, as the winners will be re-seeded afterwards. The lowest remaining seed will play top-seeded Saint Francis, and the higher seed will play Daemen in the semifinals.
LOOK BACK AT THE FINAL REGULAR SEASON WEEKEND
Daemen dropped a pair of matches in their final regular season weekend of play last weekend, first to Fairleigh Dickinson University, 3-1, on Friday night, then falling 3-1 to Saint Francis in the regular season finale in the battle for the regular season NEC title and top seed in the tournament. In Friday night's action, the Wildcats completely changed the lineup for the third and fourth set after dropping the first two to FDU. Sophomores
Jake Basinski (Eden, N.Y.) and
Maverick O'Neill (East Amherst, N.Y.) were the top hitters for the Wildcats, with each tallying a career-high seven kills against the Knights, while sophomore transfer
Ethan Sturm (Lisle, Ill.) finished with six kills and hit at a .847 clip. On Saturday, the Wildcats and Red Flash faced off for first place in the NEC, but it was the host Saint Francis that picked up the win. Senior outside hitter
Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) broke a Daemen record for kills in a four-set match with his 23-kill performance, and tied the match high. The Wildcats finished the regular season with a 17-6 record and 11-3 record in the first season of NEC play.
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Four Wildcats were named to the All-NEC teams on Tuesday afternoon, and senior outside hitter
Zach Schneider was voted the first ever NEC men's volleyball Player of the Year after his outstanding senior season. Schneider, who also picked up First Team All-NEC honors, was joined on the First Team by senior setter
Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.). Junior opposite
Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) and graduate student middle hitter
Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) earned Second Team All-NEC.
ZACH ATTACK
A four-year player for the Wildcats,
Zach Schneider takes home his first major award in his college career after putting together a stellar senior season. As one of the top offensive players in the league, Schneider finished the regular season with 299 kills to average 3.74 kills/set (third in the NEC and 16th in the country) for a .369 hitting percentage (third in the NEC), while leading the Wildcats with 150 digs to average 1.88 digs/set (fifth in the NEC), and ranks third on the team with 25 aces (sixth in the NEC) and blocks (37). This year, Schneider has broken two separate single-match records, first breaking Daemen's three-set kill record in a match with his 17-kill performance against Concordia Irvine on March 15. In Saturday's regular season finale against Saint Francis, Schneider broke the program's four-set kill record after posting 23 kills against the Red Flash, breaking his own record of 21 kills in a four-set match set vs. Mount Union on March 18, 2022. In his final match of the regular season against Merrimack on April 8, Schneider broke the Daemen program record for kills in a single season (the previous record was 257 kills that Schneider set in the 2022 season). Schneider was named First Point/NEC Player of the Week for a record five times this season, and was also named a First Point/NEC Prime Performer five times.
FIRST SEASON FOR THE BOOKS
Sean Califf, a 6-foot-5 senior transfer setter for the Wildcats, collects All-NEC First Team honors in his first season as a Wildcat. Califf has made his mark on the Daemen program in the 2023 season. After breaking the Daemen single-season assist record (667 set by
Michael Krueger in the 2019 season) in the Wildcats' final homestand of the season, Califf finished the regular season with 740 assists (9.02 assists/set), while adding 148 digs (1.80 digs/set) and 36 blocks. His 9.02 assists per set ranks second in the NEC, and he ranks seventh in the conference with 1.80 digs per set this season. On top of being the program's all-time assister, Califf also broke the program record for assists in a five-set match with his 57 assists against Sacred Heart on Feb. 19. Califf was named a First Point/NEC Prime Performer five times this season.
MILLIGAN WITH THE KILL-AGAIN
Cameron Milligan, a 6-foot-4 opposite/outside hitter, earns All-NEC Second Team honors after a successful junior season. Milligan finished the 2023 regular season with 234 kills to average 2.82 kills/set for a .244 hitting percentage, along with 26 aces, 80 digs and 32 blocks. He averaged 0.31 aces per set, ranking fifth in the conference, and averaged 3.43 points per set, ranking ninth in the NEC this season. Milligan posted 11 double-digit kill matches this season, and tallied a career-high 25 kills against Saint Francis on March 25. He was named the First Point/NEC Player of the Week once this season, and picked First Point/NEC Prime Performer honors twice.
MOFFITT MAGIC
One of Daemen's players on the inaugural 2018 team,
Henry Moffitt, a 6-foot-6 middle hitter picks up All-NEC Second Team honors in his graduate student season. Moffitt has posted the best season of his career across the board this year, totaling 151 kills (1.82 kills/set) for a league-leading .438 hitting percentage, as well as a career-high 63 total blocks, 30 digs and 13 aces. In Daemen's Senior Night in which he was honored for his contributions to the Wildcat program, Moffitt broke the Daemen program record for most blocks in a single season, eclipsing
Jake Couzens' 2022 record of 57 blocks. He ranks sixth in the league in blocks, averaging 0.76 blocks per set, while his .438 hitting percentage leads the NEC and ranks sixth in all of NCAA Division I-II. Moffitt was named the First Point/NEC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season, and was named a First Point/NEC Prime Performer three times.
REGULAR SEASON STATS WRAP UP
Daemen finished the regular season atop the NEC in points (15.71 points/set), hitting percentage (.290), assists (11.05 assists/set), lowest opponent hitting percentage (.218), kills (12.08 kills/set), service aces (1.63 per set) and fewest opponent aces (1.11 per set). The Wildcats rank second in the NEC in blocks (1.99 blocks/set) and opponent digs (8.21 digs/set) and third in the league in opponent assists (9.92 assists/set), opponent kills (10.91 kills/set) and opponent blocks (1.71 blocks/set). Moffitt leads all NEC hitters with an impressive .438 hitting percentage and ranks sixth in the league in blocks (0.76 blocks/set). Schneider leads the Wildcats with a program-high 299 kills and ranks third in the NEC in hitting percentage (.369) and third in the league in kills per set (3.74) on the year, while ranking third in the league in points (4.39 points/set) and ranking second on the team in service aces (25) and leads the Wildcats with 150 on the season to average 1.88 digs/set (fifth in the league). Milligan ranks fifth in the NEC for service aces (0.31 aces/set) and ninth in points (3.43 points/set). Califf ranks second in the NEC in assists (9.02 assists/set) and seventh in digs (1.80 digs/set). Freshman
Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) is second in the NEC for service aces (0.39 aces/set).
SCOUTING THE LIU SHARKS
LIU comes into Thursday's semifinal matchup after topping #6 seed Merrimack 3-1 in the quarterfinal match on Wednesday afternoon. On the season, the Sharks are averaging 11.3 kills per set and have posted a .242 hitting percentage. The Sharks rank second in the league in points (15.27 pts/set), and third in kills (11.60 kills/set), hitting percentage (.288) and assists (10.88 assists/set), while leading the league in blocks per set (2.47). A total of nine players return from last year, including senior
Caden Satterfield who led the team in kills (2.41 per set) and ranked second in digs (100) last year. Sophomore
Luca Holanda also returns after averaging a team-high 7.08 assists per set last year. This season, senior transfer
Livan Moreno and sophomore
Luke Chandler have paced the offense, and they were each named to the All-NEC First Team on Tuesday. Moreno has started all 28 matches this year and leads the team in kills per set (2.92), service aces (35) and ranks third in digs (138) and blocks (54). Chandler ranks second in kills per set (2.97) and service aces (17) and fourth on the team in digs (103). Holanda ranks seventh in the league in assists (8.15 assists/set) and has played in 27 of 28 matches this season. Sophomore
Kasey Clouet leads the NEC with 1.05 blks/per set, and newcomers
Arthur Sueur (0.77 blks per set) and Chandler (0.75 blks per set) all rank among the NEC's Top 10 in blocks per set.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. LIU
Series Record: 3-0, Daemen
Last Meeting: Daemen 3-2 (23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 26-24, 15-10) | March 31, 2023 | Long Island, N.Y.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
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